


A Second Chance

by GaleWrites



Category: The Suicide of Rachel Foster (Video Game)
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Heavy Canon Content discussed, Irving's POV, Shippy if you Squint, suicide is not the answer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27990594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaleWrites/pseuds/GaleWrites
Summary: An alternate take on the ending of the game. Picks up right after the discovery of 'Rachel's room' in the storage closet, but in a way that makes more sense, IME
Relationships: Irving Foster & Nicole
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19
Collections: Mild Heart Attack 2020: Short Treats Collection





	A Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kitsunerei88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitsunerei88/gifts).



> Basically, I saw your prompt and wholeheartedly agree that this game had such potential and it just wasted it. For me, the game goes south on day 8, when Irving gets all weird and sends Nicole to the closet with all the mannikins. That's where I decided to pick it up- right after Nicole hangs up on him, before things get weird. The rest just kind of happened.

“If you don’t want to help discover the truth, don’t call me.”   
  


The words rang in the silence of Irving’s improvised room. It was harsh, and he was reasonably certain she regretted that, but she was nothing if not a stubborn woman, and she shut her phone off immediately. God, this would have been so much easier if he didn’t admire that so much.

If he didn’t admire  _ her _ so much.

  
Irving had convinced himself that he was living for hatred and revenge, but he’d put the lie to that years ago when he’d made the choice to let Leonard live so that he could stay in the hotel and be close to Rachel. Despite his father’s many lectures on the Importance of Biblical Manhood and How to Interpret God’s Will For Us, he was a softhearted man who’d never once been able to believe in the angry vengeful version of god his father preached about. He believed in god, despite his best efforts, with Rachel’s ghost whispering in his ear for years what else could he do?. But his god was very different than his father’s. Maybe it was because of how thoroughly the Reverend had failed at the role, but to Irving, God was just the ultimate Father, forever torn between protecting humanity from themselves and allowing them the space to learn and grow.

To him, god was also a lot like his loving, generous, selfless sister.

Leonard had taken her away from him. Exploited her tenderness and credulity to convince her that a man old enough to be her father was truly in love with her, that she was saving him from a loveless marriage. The Reverend, the closest thing Leonard had to a friend and Rachel’s own father, did absolutely nothing to save her. Irving could remember nights when Rachel would come home crying, begging her father not to send her back to Leonard. But Rachel had to be taught. She had to be exceptional, to do her father credit. He called her lazy and stupid, told her she needed to listen to her tutor, that Leonard would never hurt her and that it was cruel of her to even hint otherwise.

He had forced her, again and again, to go back. Irving remembered that much, remembered desperately asking Rachel to tell him what was going on so that he could help her. She always refused, said it was ‘her cross to bear.’ As if there weren’t enough reasons to hate his father’s faith.

When people said Rachel’s death destroyed their family, they politely left out the ‘eccentric’ behavior of her brother, formerly a model student who never got in trouble. They left out Irving’s breakdowns, him begging his teachers to help him get out, lashing out at the world when no one would listen even after his sister’s death. They left out how he vanished when he was supposed to be going to seminary.

Nicole’s insistence that he not talk to her unless he was willing to help was laughable. He’d dedicated his entire life to this exact question. What exactly happened between Leonard and Rachel that caused her death? Did she end her own life? Did Leonard kill her in a vain attempt to hide what he’d done? Was it an act of anger from someone she’d trusted with her secret?

He’d come to this hotel hoping for two things: Answers and Revenge. He had found precious few of the former, and was ashamed of how long it had taken him to get the latter.

Irving paced the room as he waited, trying to fight off the memories of the past ten years. The point of this was to learn something new, not to drown in the same cycles of anger and regret. He had made the decision not to kill Nicole when she had arrived, angry and terrified, and reluctantly turned to him for help. It would have been ludicrously easy in this secluded lodge in this blizzard, but… that didn’t feel right. Killing Leonard had felt right, even if Rachel hadn’t wanted him to do it.

Nicole, angry, scared, and determined… She was doing what he had never had the courage to do- move on. After all, she had been a child, too. Could he hold her accountable for her father’s crimes?

But… if she wasn’t dying here, she had to remember. She had to understand. It was selfish, he knew that it was. But… she might be the only one left alive who could answer his questions. She might not even know that she knew the answers, but she was there. She might have seen something, heard something, know of secret hidden away places… He’d lived there for four years and he was sure he’d barely seen half of the many tucked away closets and passages in this rabbit’s warren of a hotel.

And then… she did. She found something more disturbing than he could have dreamed, and he babbled in his panic. He wanted so badly to believe that it was merely a product of Leonard’s broken mind, and he’d alienated the one person he’d started to trust.

There was nothing for it but to wait and hope, tucked away behind the padlocked doors, buried in blankets and layers of clothes to keep warm. Surrounded by the building blocks of his plan, the product of ten years of pain. He hadn’t thought anything could ever hurt this much again, but the thought of losing her forever broke through the dull protective numbness and spiked white hot. Not even the intangible presence of Rachel could soothe him over the long hours before he finally heard back.

“Irving?”

He sat bolt upright, fumbling for his phone. “N-Nicole? Are you alright?”

There was a heavy sigh, and he heard her sit down on something creaky- her bed, perhaps? “My father… was a pedophile. Acting like there was some arbitrary line I know he wouldn’t cross is… irrational. I’m sorry.”

Irving took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “I understand. It… must be hard. Accepting the truth about him. It sounds like you really loved him.”

  
“God… fuck him. I loved who I thought he was. I think… I’ve spent too long here trying to understand what happened to Rachel, when the answer was my creepy father all along. Even if he didn’t do it with his own hands, he still killed her.”

“I… you’re probably right, there.” Irving admitted, his instincts screaming at him to encourage her to keep pushing anyway. At some point, he knew, he had to make a conscious choice to do what was best for her or give up on ever having anything to do with her again. And, provided he didn’t go through with his originally intended ending to this little escapade, he didn’t want to put that any more at risk than he already had. “I understand why you want to know, but it all goes back to Leonard.”

“How did you stand working with him for so many years? Bringing him supplies every winter? If I were you, I would’ve let him starve.” Nicole didn’t sound accusatory, but it still brought up a sharp pang of guilt.

Irving had intended to kill Leonard immediately after the ghost hunters left, hide the body in some convenient nook, and hide out looking for clues as long as he could. He deserved to die, after all. But… then Irving found Rachel. She’d scared the ghost hunters away, but filled him with this sort of ecstatic joy. She was still dead, still lost forever, but… she was also there with him in some strange way. Little flashes of light, the sound of chimes, the scent of her favorite cinnamon candies, a strange warmth… she made herself known to him the first night, and he couldn’t bear to risk having to leave her so soon. 

It had taken Leonard three months to find him, stealing food in the kitchen, and when he had, he’d just laughed and told him to make himself at home. He’d claimed to have been in love with her, and said he ‘wanted to do right by family’. It had taken all of Irving’s self control not to stab him with the kitchen knife sitting conveniently to his right. He couldn’t be sure if Leonard had called the cops, after all. He would not have been able to stay and look for answers, to stay with Rachel, if he’d gotten caught so quickly.

“Do you think it’s really that easy to kill?” Irving asked, after an uncomfortably long pause. “Knowing someone deserves to die is easy. Being the one to do it yourself…”

  
Nicole laughed bitterly. “Easier said than done, I know.” She hesitated. “Is there any sign of the roads opening up? I don’t know how much longer I can stand to stay here.”

“Nicole, I… wish I had better news. I’m pretty sure it’ll be at least another week, at this rate.” Irving was grateful for the time, but he hated the pain in her voice when she asked. “Maybe you should move to a different part of the hotel? Away from the memories a bit?”

Nicole hummed, a sound Irving knew by now to be her considering her options. “You might be on to something there. There’s lots of empty rooms, after all.”

Irving smiled. “Going to go for one of the fancy suites?”

Nicole laughed again, a much happier sound this time. “I’m not sure we have any of those left. Just a simple room on this floor, where everything’s still nice and toasty, I think.”   
  
“A wise decision.” He told her warmly. “Listen, Nicole… maybe you should get some rest. Stake out your new space and sack out for the night. It’s been a rough day.”

Nicole yawned. “You’re probably right. Goodnight, Irving.”

\--------------------------------

The next morning Nicole actually woke Irving up from the fitful sleep he’d managed to catch. He hadn’t slept much, since she’d arrived. “Morning, Irving.”

“Mmm, morning Nicky.” He replied, yawning.

“Don’t tell me you slept at your desk again instead of going home? How are they even okay with that at FEMA?”

“... Welllllll.” Now was the moment. Irving was suddenly wide awake, and absolutely terrified. But this felt like the last time he could possibly come clean. “About that. Why don’t you go… have a look through the big windows in the viewing room.”

“... Did someone get through?” She asked eagerly

“Go on, we’ll talk when you get there.” Irving fumbled to get dressed in the cleanest clothes he had, finger combing his hair and briefly wishing he looked a bit less like a hobo. Looking pathetic would probably help his case, but he wished Nicole wouldn’t see him like this all the same. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d even gotten himself together enough to wash his clothes or take a proper shower. But, there was no time for that, he had to get to their meeting place quickly. She was closer to it, she’d reach it first unless he was very, very fast.

He wasn’t fast enough. Nicole was standing there, face up against the glass, searching the landscape for any sign of rescue. She held her phone limply in one hand, and even in rumpled, dirty clothes, she was so beautiful she made his heart ache.

“Hi, Nicole…” He greeted her weakly, stepping into the room

She whirled, glancing from the phone to him. “Irving? But… how?”

“Listen, I… haven’t been entirely honest with you.” He started, relaxing a tiny bit as the faint sound of wind chimes filled the air. Rachel was here with him, to support him.

  
Nicole crossed her arms, looking furious. “I can tell by looking at you. You’re not a FEMA agent. You look more like one of the drifters Dad would’ve let stay in the chapel…”

Irving laughed weakly. “That’s… not entirely wrong, I guess. I am sort of a drifter, and Leonard did let me stay… Until I killed him.”

Nicole threw the phone at his head and backed away from him. “What the fuck?”

“My name is Irving Foster.” He explained, holding his hands up and stepping deliberately away from the door so she could get away if she wanted to. 

Nicole bolted for the door and stood in the doorway, staring at him. “Oh god, I can see it now that you say that. I haven’t seen you since… that night. What the hell happened to you?”

He sighs. “What else? Our father demanded the world of both of us. Rachel had to be a perfect straight A student and future mother, and I was supposed to become a reverend as well. I wasn’t allowed to do anything that didn’t fit his plans. We were all each other had, until we didn’t.”   
  
“So you, what, showed up to kill my dad in revenge and then decided to move in? What the fuck?” Nicole glared at him

Irving sighed. “You’ve heard the chimes. I know you have, you chased them for most of a day. You’ve probably seen the lights, too. All of those things the ghost hunters noticed. It’s her. I just… couldn’t leave her.”

“Yeah, sure. How could I possibly believe that’s real, Irving? You’ve been here the whole time, you could have been doing that yourself.”

“You know better.” Irving told her desperately. “You’ve felt her. You know no living human could fake this.”

Nicole scoffed. “I’ve already told you, I don’t believe in ghosts. There’s nothing here that someone who’s tech savvy enough to get the phones set up couldn’t have done, I’m sure.”

“Look, I promise, the only thing I’ve lied to you about is the FEMA thing. On my honor.”

“Do I believe you have any honor? Nicole asked, hands clenching into fists. 

“Is there anything I could do to convince you?” Irving asked desperately, feeling any chance of a future slipping away again.

Nicole sighed. “I don’t know, Irving. You can start by telling me  _ everything. _ ”

“Ask me anything, I’ll answer.” He smiled hopefully.

“Where the fuck have you been hiding, for a starter?”

“Ah… behind the padlocked door. In the damaged wing.”   
  
“Without heat? In this weather?”   
  
He shrugged. “It was the best place to make sure I was out of your way.”

“Why go to all the trouble? Why not just tell me from the beginning?”

“What, that I’m a homeless guy crashing in your family hotel who killed your dad? I’m not interested in being dragged away in handcuffs.”

“So… what was the plan, then?” Nicole asked skeptically. “I came here to sell it, after all. You would’ve had to get out soon enough.”

“Honestly? My original plan was to kill you too. I was so angry at your whole family for not doing anything to help her, for so long… But you were just a kid too. I remembered that when I went to your room. I’d originally planned to wait there to kill you. I hadn’t been in Leonard’s part of the hotel before.”

“Why the phone, then? And the FEMA routine?”

“The blizzard. You were going to be stuck here. I… thought maybe I could help. I hadn’t planned on it being more than a day or two, I didn’t know it was going to get this far.”

Nicole stared at him for a moment. “You wanted to help me? Why?”

  
“Well I… Your life was destroyed too. Thinking of it like that, I guess I felt some… solidarity?” Irving sighed. “And, when you started getting curious, I thought maybe if I supported you, you’d be able to figure out what happened.”

“So, what, are you showing up now to try to convince me to get back to it?” She glared at him. “I want to move on with my life.”

“No. You’re right. I know now, you’re right. Rachel wouldn’t have wanted any of this. She would have wanted me to move on with you. Which is why I knew I had to come clean.” Irving sighed and leaned against the wall. “I know it’s stupid and I wouldn’t blame you for wanting nothing to do with me, but you’re kind of all I have.”

Nicole clearly wanted to be angry with him, but instead she sighed and held out a hand. “Come on. I had mom to take care of me and help me move on. In her will, she asked me to take care of your family. Which includes you. You need a warm room and a shower.”

Irving took it, hardly believing his luck. “Is this some sort of trick? If you don’t want me around, you can just say so. I have a backup plan.” He didn’t mention that his backup plan was to walk out into the blizzard. It would’ve felt manipulative.

“Oh, no. You want my help, you’re stuck with it now. But you’re going to actually get your shit together, understand? Rachel is dead and it’s very sad, but you did not die with her, and you’re a grown damn man.”

“I… understand.” He let her tow him along to an empty room, still baffled by how well this was going.

“You’re going to get in there and pass me all your gross tatty clothes, and I’m going to throw them in the wash while you shower. Wrap yourself in a blanket or something til I bring you something clean.” She pointed at the door to the room, authority in her voice.

“Yes, ma’am.” Irving replied gratefully, stepping inside. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s Christmas, helping my fellow man is part of the package. Don’t make a big deal about it.” Nicole flapped her hand at him

“Right. Of course.” Irving replied, shutting the door to strip down as instructed. He wouldn’t say anything more about it, but he was definitely making it a big deal in his head all the same.


End file.
